A Blog for Dallas Area Catholicshttps://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com
Sat, 17 Feb 2018 16:50:03 +0000enhourly1http://wordpress.com/https://secure.gravatar.com/blavatar/51619af72a0bd28e1e09987458e7fc15?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.wp.com%2Fi%2Fbuttonw-com.pngA Blog for Dallas Area Catholicshttps://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com
Get Me a Tinfoil Hat, I’m All-In on Conspiracy Theories Nowhttps://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/2018/02/08/get-me-a-tinfoil-hat-im-all-in-on-conspiracy-theories-now/
https://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/2018/02/08/get-me-a-tinfoil-hat-im-all-in-on-conspiracy-theories-now/#commentsThu, 08 Feb 2018 00:08:04 +0000http://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/?p=27377Not really, not entirely, but some discussion on the previous post about how the powers that be in this nation are now completely off the rails, and just when it was that this nation lost it’s way, prompted me to extrapolate a bit on the broader subject of conspiracies. The nation, of course, was in many ways off the rails from the founding, if you are even halfway convinced by Christopher Ferrara’s most important work, Liberty: The God that Failed, but I left a comment wherein I talked about how recent study has caused me to conclude that my previous belief – that conspiracy theories are almost always false – was itself a result of a deliberate effort by the CIA to discredit those who opposed their varying agendas. That is to say, it was the CIA itself that coined the phrase “conspiracy theory” in the 60s to squash those asking uncomfortable questions about the JFK assassination, the Vietnam War, morally questionable (or downright damnable) US activities in many countries, etc., etc……..and in fact came up with all the arguments against conspiracy theories I have tended to believe – that conspiracies are extremely hard to conduct, that they are impossible to keep secret, that to do X so many people would have to be involved that word would certainly get out, that “the real world doesn’t work that way,” among other things. [Sorry for those of you who get posts by e-mail, I wrote this in a huge hurry and really botched the grammar in this first paragraph. The first few sentences didn’t make much sense. Mea maxima culpa]

I had swallowed it hook, line, and sinker. To my comment:

One thing I learned recently, which was fascinating and has caused me to re-examine my own previously held notions, is that it was the CIA itself that coined the phrase “conspiracy theory” in response to continued doubts over the JFK assassination and other scandals of the 60s. I wouldn’t say I believe in black helicopters, the Illuminati, chemtrails, or anything quite like that just yet, but it is patently obvious at this point to anyone with an ounce of sense that there is a massive, ongoing conspiracy against conservatism, Trump, liberty, Christianity, and the conception of this nation as founded, or what was long presented as the conception of this nation, that has become so clumsy and obvious of late that it can no longer be ignored, but which in fact goes back decades if not much longer. And yes the US was wrongly founded from the beginning, in being not based on Catholicism (and in many respects hostile to the Faith as it was certainly practiced then, and had been since the early Church), and in being the product of a small dedicated group that sought the overthrow of the existing economic/political/cultural power structure and its replacement with another structure – with themselves in the positions of power. In other words, a conspiracy, and a successful one.

If you read the sad, US-influenced political and cultural history of Mexico since 1800, you will find almost exactly the same thing. A small cabal subverting the will of the vast majority of souls and imposing a hostile and alien construct upon the masses, for their own personal benefit.

And then there is the example of the Church, where again a relatively small cabal, infinitely aided by sympathetic, timid, and/or feckless leadership, has seized control and imposed a radically different construct on the (initially?) largely unwilling masses, and even convinced them of how good and wonderful all these changes have been. Just recently I had an exchange with some septuagenarians, very early boomers who were at just that “right” age at Vatican II, who are just utterly convinced of how wrong and awful the pre-conciliar Church was, and how wonderful all the changes have been. When I presented contradictory evidence, the implosion of vocations, tens of millions of souls lost to the Church in this country alone, etc., etc., they said those were POSITIVE developments, that it made absolutely no difference what “church” one belonged to and those people were probably better off outside the Church, given all the evils like the boy-rape epidemic and collapse of catechesis that have resulted (and that religious life was a crock, that it was a medieval concept for stuffing unmarried daughters and Jesus freaks into veritable asylums). There is absolutely no arguing with these people, no quoting of Scripture, no relation of the wisdom of the Fathers, no statistical data that can possibly move them from their position that Vatican II was an unalloyed good and what existed before an unalloyed evil. These people are wholesale devotees of the new religion foisted on the Church in the 60s. They only remain Catholic themselves for sentimental reasons, or, more demoniacally, to continue the work of destruction (and some of them have been long involved in just that).

These are just a handful of examples. I still do not believe that history in toto is more or less a collection of conspiracies successful and failed, but that doesn’t mean that extremely influential events have not been developed and decided by a (relatively) small group working to a particular purpose.

So get me a tinfoil hat and call me a conspiracy theorist, but honest reading of history reveals that a great many extremely influential events have been the result of a small cadre of dedicated activists, generally working in secret (see France, 1789). IOW, a conspiracy.

And I would say that all the cultural/moral travesties we have witnessed over the past 50-odd years are the result of a deliberate conspiracy aimed at destroying Western civilization and, in particular, the Church, in order to bring about a sexularist socialist “utopia.” I mean, transgender bathrooms, really? or arguing that guys (it’s always guys) who say no to men dressed up as women are hateful bigots? For real? Like that just happened organically, naturally? Riiiiiiight.

]]>https://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/2018/02/08/get-me-a-tinfoil-hat-im-all-in-on-conspiracy-theories-now/feed/66tantamergoPlease Pray for the Repose of the Soul of Jeff Dunnamhttps://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/2018/02/07/please-pray-for-the-repose-of-the-soul-of-jeff-dunnam/
https://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/2018/02/07/please-pray-for-the-repose-of-the-soul-of-jeff-dunnam/#commentsWed, 07 Feb 2018 20:28:00 +0000http://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/?p=27375Jeff Dunnam was a coworker of mine for the past 2 years at Commscope. The first 7-8 months I didn’t get to know him as he was on leave recovering from cancer. Then he went out again for cancer treatment over the past 2 months or so. But in between, I got to know Jeff quite well. Jeff was not Catholic but was a believing Christian. He was in many respects a good guy. We had many conversations when he drug me out to have a smoke in the afternoon heat. He grew up in Collin County, like me, and we used to talk about the sounds and smells of summer – the Bois D’Arc trees and rotting horseapples, the smell of ragweed 10 feet tall, the katydids and locusts buzzing all day, the things we’d get up to as kids, before Collin County got built up and paved over. I enjoyed the time I spent with him.

Even though he had been suffering from cancer, he died suddenly and unexpectedly this past Saturday Feb 3. Amazingly, another coworker of mine ran into Jeff buying a handgun earlier that same day, and reported he looked agitated and distracted but physically well.

Obviously there is much cause for prayer. The visitation/memorial is tonight, the funeral and burial tomorrow at 2pm. Both are in Allen, near Jeff’s hometown of McKinney. Location at the link. Yes these are of course protestant services.

]]>https://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/2018/02/07/please-pray-for-the-repose-of-the-soul-of-jeff-dunnam/feed/3tantamergoHelpful Prayers to St. Josephhttps://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/2018/02/07/helpful-prayers-to-st-joseph/
https://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/2018/02/07/helpful-prayers-to-st-joseph/#commentsWed, 07 Feb 2018 00:03:37 +0000http://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/?p=27371These prayers are new to me. Hopefully they will be to you, too. I found them in the book A Manual of Practical Devotion to St. Joseph by Fr. Patrignani, SJ. The book is a veritable bible of means of practicing devotion to St. Joseph. I have found it edifying to read, as someone who trusts immensely in the intercession and spiritual guidance of St. Joseph.

A Prayer for Purity

O holy St. Joseph, father and guardian of virgins, to whose fidelity was confided Jesus, innocence itself, and Mary, the Virgin of virgins; I supplicate myself and conjure you, through Jesus and Mary, this sacred deposit which is so dear to your heart, to grant that, preserved from all sin, and perfectly pure in mind, heart, and body, I may have the happiness of always serving Jesus and Mary very faithfully. Amen.

Ejaculatory Prayer

Jesus, Joseph, and Mary, I give you my heart and my life. Jesus, Joseph and Mary, assist me in my last agony. Jesus, Joseph, and Mary, grant that I may die in your holy company. (three hundred day’s indulgence, applicable to the souls in Purgatory)

Prayer for a person with a laborious occupation:

Blessed Joseph, who have passed your life in the painful labors of a humble profession, I take you as my model and my protector. Obtain for me that I may bear patiently the pains and fatigues of my state, that, like you, sanctifying my labors, I may merit a crown in Heaven. Amen.

Prayer to Implore the Protection of St. Joseph

What consolation do I feel, O my admirable and powerful protector, in hearing your servant, St. Teresa, assure us that no one ever invoked you in vain, and that all those who have a true devotion to you, and who seek your help with confidence, are always heard! Animated with a like confidence, I have recourse to you, O worthy spouse of the Virgin of virgins; I take refuge at your feet; and a sinner though I am, I dare to present myself tremblingly to you. Do not reject my humble prayers, O you that have borne the glorious name of Father of Jesus, listen favorably to them, and deign to intercede with Him who has been wiling to be called your Son, and Who has always honored you as His father. Amen.

Act of Consecration to St. Joseph

O blessed St. Joseph, I consecrate myself to your honor, and give myself entirely to you. Be always my father, my protector, and my guide, in the way of salvation. Obtain for me a great purity of heart, and a practical love of the interior life. After your example, may I do all my actions for the greater glory of God, in union with the divine hearts of Jesus and Mary. And, in fine, deign, blessed Joseph, to make me participate in the delights of your holy death. Amen.

]]>https://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/2018/02/07/helpful-prayers-to-st-joseph/feed/4tantamergoNow for something happier – SpaceX Falcon Heavy successfully launcheshttps://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/2018/02/06/now-for-something-happier-spacex-falcon-heavy-successfully-launches/
https://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/2018/02/06/now-for-something-happier-spacex-falcon-heavy-successfully-launches/#commentsTue, 06 Feb 2018 23:50:24 +0000http://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/?p=27369I don’t know if you got to see the launch, but over 5 million pounds of thrust shook Launch pad 39A at Cape Canaveral for the first time in 45 years as SpaceX’s first Falcon Heavy rocket conducted an almost entirely successful test flight. I say almost entirely, because at the time I am writing this, it is not known if the core booster successfully landed on the drone ship in the Atlantic (the side boosters did land).

Footage of the launch below.

The payload was Elon Musk’s 2008 Tesla roadster fitted with a manikin in an astronaut’s suit. They are still livestreaming footage of that, dubbed “Starman:”

Both the Tesla roadster and the 2nd stage of the Falcon Heavy are en route to a solar orbit that will have them pass somewhere out around the orbit of Mars.

While this initial version of Falcon Heavy was significantly dialed back in terms of thrust and payload potential, given how SpaceX has constantly, incrementally increased the thrust and payload of its Falcon 9, I expect them to do the same with Falcon Heavy. I wouldn’t doubt if a nearly 6 million pound thrust version may enter service at some point.

The launch coverage was thoroughly enjoyable to watch. The immense joy of SpaceX employees in the background, shouting and whooping it up as the rocket successfully executed each step of the launch cycle, was contagious.

Congratulations to SpaceX. I think BFR and Mars colonization are a bit too ambitious even for Elon Musk, but what they have accomplished so far they have every right to be extremely proud of.

]]>https://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/2018/02/06/now-for-something-happier-spacex-falcon-heavy-successfully-launches/feed/4tantamergoSo It’s Pretty Much Obvious at This Point that Representative Democracy in the USA Is Deadhttps://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/2018/02/06/so-its-pretty-much-obvious-at-this-point-that-representative-democracy-in-the-usa-is-dead/
https://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/2018/02/06/so-its-pretty-much-obvious-at-this-point-that-representative-democracy-in-the-usa-is-dead/#commentsTue, 06 Feb 2018 23:40:59 +0000http://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/?p=27367I know some, perhaps most, readers have believed that what we have all been sold as “democracy,” or a representative republic where the “will of the people” is expressed, at least generally, in broad strokes, by their elected leaders at the national level, has been dead for decades. Pick your date for when it died – Marbury vs. Madison, the Civil War, the 16th Amendment, direct election of Senators, the assassination of JFK, the lies perpetrated by the intelligence apparatus to suck us into the Iraq War……whatever – the point is, many of you have been onto the fact that this thing we have been very deliberately and carefully propagandized to believe – that we have some say (again, at the national level particularly) in how we are ruled (not governed) – is a farce. It hasn’t been true in a very long time.

I don’t mean to sound defeatist, unpatriotic, or, God forbid, like a carping leftist, but if the revelations of the mammoth, ongoing, unrepentant, largely unreported Deep State conspiracies against Donald Trump, and, more particularly, those who elected him, have shown us anything, it is that somehow, over the past few decades (I think it’s mostly occurred in my lifetime), a deeply entrenched unelected unaccountable cabal has taken over the reins of power in this country, particularly at the national level but depending on where you live all the way down to the most local level, and that democracy, or republicanism, as we have all been taught to believe, is a crock.

This cabal consists of deeply embedded, careerist bureaucrats in the government, the academic environment from which they derive their sacred credentials which they purport makes them fit to rule over others, and a media which has become wholly ideological and uncaring about having even a semblance of impartial coverage. It is deeply classist and thoroughly bourgeois. Indeed, that is their primary objection to Trump and his supporters, that they are so working class, so often Christian, so rough and tumble, so politically incorrect (and thus heretics against their new, self-made, godless and God-hating religion) and just so gauche.

This coalition of the unworthy, this cadre of self-anointed leftists, has grown unchecked in power and influence over the past 50 years irrespective of which party is in office. Well intentioned fool Bush ’43, however, did a very great deal to make their hold on power unshakable through the the “PATRIOT Act” and unaccountable, secretive courts and apparatus that have been, and will continue to be, ranged against the people of this country not in pursuit of national defense, but in pursuit of naked partisanism and self-aggrandizement.

We are confronted in these present days with a scandal that utterly dwarfs the defining political scandal of the past 3 generations (at least) – Watergate – in which a democrat administration and a democrat political campaign found eager partners in the intelligence and federal law enforcement bureaucracies in order to try to destroy the reputation of the Republican candidate and so swing the election to Hillary Clinton. Even after this effort failed and Trump won, the democrats and their media allies have waged an utterly unprecedented and unconstitutional (as if that matters anymore) campaign to have a sitting president accused of committing some crime, any crime, even (or especially) if it is not an actual crime, in order to drive him from office.

And the media, an absolutely vital component in the system of checks and balances envisioned by the Founding Fathers, has gone over wholly into this same obvious partisanship and absolute contempt for decency, fair play, or anything remotely resembling balance. Indeed, the relations between the media, academy, infotainment complex, and government agencies is as incestuous as it is corrupt. All of these entities have a huge stake in seeing the current system continue to grow in wealth and power, no matter the consequences for the “little people” who are being crushed through their avarice. No, that’s wrong……crushing the little people is indeed the point, as this cabal seeks to create a new peasant class and a new aristocracy.

That this cabal is also entirely leftist and filled with loathing for this nation as founded, all non-leftists, and especially those who believe in God and adhere to traditional morality is simply the glue that holds the entire unholy enterprise together.

I’m ranting, but I think we good cause. I have listened to hours of media coverage try to pretend that a government conspiracy to destroy a major party presidential candidate (and now president) is of absolutely no consequence, and in fact, that it is the Republicans who are damaging the Constitution and endangering the Republic. The unmitigated gall…….but as I’ve said before, if you want to know exactly what evils leftists are guilty of, see what they accuse their opponents of.

…Kamala Harris tried to imprison pro-life journalists for probing Planned Parenthood. Now she’s a U.S. senator, whom some think should run for president. What would President Harris’ FBI look like? A lot more like the Stasi than we would like to admit.

More than likely, the best that we can hope for is that Trump will not be wounded politically by all these efforts, but may even get a slight bump. But given what we’ve witnessed in these last 5-6 years of ugly, self-serving, Chicago machine-style rule, there is absolutely zero chance that any of the major players in this attempt to destroy a properly elected Republican administration will even be convicted of a crime, let alone serve any jail time (which, manifestly, numerous people, from Lois Lerner to James Comey to Strozk and these many other characters should). The law, the ever-multiplying rules and regulations they impose on us, are for the little people. The elite, the connected, the self-anointed (always holding the correct, changing-by-the-minute leftist politically correct beliefs) are above such things.

The question is, how much longer are we not just going to take it, but continue to pay for the privilege through our obsequious submission to taxation and and other means of control?

The other question is, many traditional Catholics would argue that what we are seeing now is the inevitable end state of a democracy. All previous “experiments” in democracy have failed. Are we doomed to repeat the experience, and must it lead to civil war and cultural collapse, as it so often has in the past?

What should we, as Catholics, advocate for, in terms of politics, if anything? Is it better to just try to ride out the calamity, doing the best we can for our family and other loved ones, and let the chips fall where they may? Is there a point in engaging in this system anymore, or should we only advocate for some radical alternative, whatever it may be?

]]>https://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/2018/02/06/so-its-pretty-much-obvious-at-this-point-that-representative-democracy-in-the-usa-is-dead/feed/22tantamergoAwesome Fatima Center Conference Coming to DFW March 9-11 2018https://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/2018/01/31/awesome-fatima-center-conference-coming-to-dfw-march-9-11-2018/
https://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/2018/01/31/awesome-fatima-center-conference-coming-to-dfw-march-9-11-2018/#commentsWed, 31 Jan 2018 23:47:18 +0000http://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/?p=27364The Fatima Center/Our Lady’s Army of Advocates will be holding a conference at the DFW airport Hyatt Regency March 9-11 2018. A bevy of fantastic speakers are lined up, including this blog’s favorite Father Michael Rodriguez, Fr. Paul McDonald, Father Isaac Mary Relyea, Chris Ferrara, Michael Matt, and many other top speakers. Rates for the conference vary, the rate for the entire weekend is $270 which includes meals but not lodging, but walk-in rates starting at $20 are available for the main Saturday conference, which, yay! The Sunday conference is also only $20 if you brown bag it. What a great Lenten retreat! I pray my wife and I and perhaps some of the kids are able to attend, it should be a fantastic event.

The flyer is below. The complete list of speakers is here. Father Rodriguez is mostly speaking on Sunday, for those with a particular interest in hearing him, though I’m certain the entire conference will be wonderful and well worth attending. We should be able to make at least one of the days. The rest of the conference schedule is here.

This conference is not just for locals. Come in from Waco, Austin, San Antonio, Oklahoma City, El Paso, and much further afield! If you do plan to attend, please leave a comment and we can try to set up a meeting if you want. I’m sure I’ll/we’ll be at least one of the days.

What a blessed event for our area and dioceses. Though Mass will be offered each day of the conference and I’m certain the speakers will be quite busy, it would be wonderful if any of them could take a short trip over to Irving and drop by Mater Dei. I know their presence would be most appreciated, and it might be interesting for them to see such a large traditional parish. We’ll see.

I will post additional reminders and announcements as the event nears. If any of the organizers would like any particular aspects advertised, don’t hesitate to leave a comment or contact me at larryr103@gmail.com. I’m eager to spread the word on this great catechetical and social activity.

]]>https://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/2018/01/31/awesome-fatima-center-conference-coming-to-dfw-march-9-11-2018/feed/3tantamergoUSAF Hosting Largest Ever Red Flag Exercise, Featuring Massive GPS Blackout over Western UShttps://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/2018/01/31/usaf-hosting-largest-ever-red-flag-exercise-featuring-massive-gps-blackout-over-western-us/
https://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/2018/01/31/usaf-hosting-largest-ever-red-flag-exercise-featuring-massive-gps-blackout-over-western-us/#commentsWed, 31 Jan 2018 22:27:31 +0000http://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/?p=27362Now I know why I didn’t do a Flightline Friday for months – I knew once I got started on the subject, I wouldn’t be able to stop. You’re witnessing the transformation of this formerly dumb Catholic blog to a smart military blog.

Actually, I’ve been just pounded at work this week and when I get a moment, I want to read something “light,” which has meant military. Because nothing says light like war and death.

Red Flag is the world’s premiere, largest, most complex, most realistic air warfare exercise. Red Flags are typically held 4-6 times a year, always at Nellis Air Force base adjacent to Las Vegas and the sprawling Nellis Test and Training Range. Red Flag 18-1 is the first of the year, as the name implies, and is also the largest ever held. Not only that, it is also one of the most secretive, highest-end threat environments ever presented at Red Flag, which is saying something, because many aircrew maintain that after experiencing the rigors of Red Flag, actual combat seems rather dull and uneventful. Red Flag generally prepares aircrews for the highest end fight, against the most complex defenses and the most skilled adversaries. This year is no exception, as, for the first time ever, USAF will be making use of GPS-jamming technologies so powerful that normal GPS reception over almost the entire western US will be affected for several hours a day while the exercises are ongoing:

The year’s first iteration of the USAF’s premier set of aerial war games, known commonly as Red Flag, is kicking off today at Nellis Air Force Base just outside of Las Vegas, but this exercise will be different than any in the past. Not only is it the largest of its kind in the exercise’s 42 year history, but the USAF is going to blackout GPS over the sprawling Nevada Test and Training Range to challenge aircrews and their weaponry under realistic fighting conditions. The tactic will spill over throughout the region, with warnings being posted stating inconsistent GPS service could be experienced by aircrews flying throughout the western United States.

The NBAA Command Center reports the U.S. military will begin training exercises on the Nevada Test and Training Range between 0400Z until 0700Z daily. Training maneuvers will impact vast portions of the Western U.S. including California, Nevada, Oregon, Wyoming, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Montana and New Mexico. FAA enroute ATC centers affected include Albuquerque (ZAB), Denver (ZDV), Los Angeles (ZLA), Salt Lake (ZLC), Oakland (ZOA) and Seattle (ZSE). Operations in R-2508 and R-2501 may also be impacted.

Arrivals and departures from airports within the Las Vegas area may be issued non-Rnav re-routes with the possibility of increased traffic disruption near LAS requiring airborne re-routes to the south and east of the affected area. Aircraft operating in Los Angeles (ZLA) center airspace may experience navigational disruption, including suspension of Descend-via and Climb-via procedures. Non-Rnav SIDs and STARs may be issued within ZLA airspace in the event of increased navigational disruption. Crews should expect the possibility of airborne mile-in-trail and departure mile-in-trail traffic management initiatives.

Those dates and the location perfectly correspond with Red Flag 18-1. The timeframe for the daily disruptions is also the same as the night launch and recovery period for Red Flag this time of year. Two major large force employment missions take place every day during the exercise, one during the light and one during the night, with each last roughly two to three hours.

This particular Red Flag includes players from the USAF, USMC, Australia and UK. [Those are the US’ top-tier allies and get access to the darkest and spookiest stuff. Britain used to far and away be the most trusted in that respect, but more and more of late Australia is given the most favored nation status in access to highly classified capabilities and programs. Still, the two are easily the most trusted and given access to the most sensitive capabilities – and vice versa. The militaries of the US, Britain, and Australia share as much, and are as integrated, as any in the world.] The very limited guest list of only America’s most trusted allies is indicative of a Red Flag exercise where high-end and sensitive capabilities will be put to the test. According to a press release from the USAF that was posted just hours ago, this seems to be an accurate assumption, with Colonel Michael Mathes, 414th Combat Training Squadron commander, stating:

“We’re trying a few new and different things with Red Flag 18-1… It’s the largest Red Flag ever with the largest number of participants, highlighting the balance of training efficiency with mission effectiveness… Red Flag 18-1 primarily is a strike package focused training venue that we integrate at a command and control level in support of joint task force operations… It’s a lot of words to say that we integrate every capability we can into strike operations that are flown out of Nellis Air Force Base.” [So Red Flag also often involves lower-tier allies, and even some nations that are only kinda sorta friendly, like India. Adversaries are not invited. So, it’s not unusual for the Israeli Air Force to attend, or Colombia, S. Korea, and certainly other NATO nations. But this one is reserved only for the closest allies, which says something special is going on]

If you read yesterday’s single post, you know that the US presently has a significant vulnerability to anti-satellite weapons, which is another way to deny critical capabilities like GPS to US forces. Powerful ground- or air-based jammers are another way to accomplish the same goal. I’m glad, in a sense, to see USAF taking the threat seriously and training to fight in a GPS-degraded environment. My brother-in-law who is apparently a genius at packaging ever-smaller and cheaper inertial navigation systems (INS) into aircraft, weapons, ships, and ground vehicles has his work cut out for him, but should stay busy for years.

A bit of a rah-rah video from USAF on this Red Flag 18-1.

Unfortunately, a Royal Australian Air Force Boeing EF-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft caught fire and was severely damaged during the exercises this week. Apparently the crew were able to escape without injury, but the aircraft is likely a total write off. It seems the starboard engine caught fire and burned through the empennage.

As to the threat, here’s a video the Navy released of Russian Su-27 Flankers – armed with live missiles – flying dangerously close to an EP-3E Aries II electronic surveillance aircraft over the international waters/airspace of theBlack Sea recently. This kind of thing used to happen occasionally during the Cold War, but has been occurring regularly, several times a year, since tensions mounted with Russia over their intervention in the Ukraine/Crimea:

In some of those shots, that Flanker is single digit feet from the Aries. Dangerous. Lots of potential for bad things to happen with that kind of behavior.

]]>https://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/2018/01/31/usaf-hosting-largest-ever-red-flag-exercise-featuring-massive-gps-blackout-over-western-us/feed/2tantamergoDon’t Have a Freak Out – Russian, Chinese Anti-Satellite Technology Nothing Newhttps://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/2018/01/31/dont-have-a-freak-out-russian-chinese-anti-satellite-technology-nothing-new/
https://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/2018/01/31/dont-have-a-freak-out-russian-chinese-anti-satellite-technology-nothing-new/#commentsWed, 31 Jan 2018 00:10:42 +0000http://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/?p=27356This article from Hot Air is remarkably ignorant of history. It does not mention, for instance, Program 437, which ran from 1962 until 1975, which involved launching a Thor missile from Johnson Atoll in the Pacific to down low earth orbit satellites and/or fractional orbit bombardment systems (FOBS) – a kind of nuclear warhead designed to behave like a satellite and thus attack by stealth, possibly from a surprising direction – like from the south. This was an active US anti-satellite (ASAT) capability for over a decade.

And even Program 437 was preceded by another American ASAT system, Program 505, which used a Nike Zeus anti-ballistic missile missile to also target low earth orbit satellites and FOBS. 505 was phased out because Thor could reach much higher altitudes than Zeus, up to 800 miles above earth – really out of LEO territory and into medium orbits. Both were armed with nuclear warheads to make sure they killed what they targeted, though they were accurate enough (at least Zeus was) to get skin-to-skin hits even way back in the very early 60s. Satellites and ICBM reentry vehicles behave in extremely similar ways, if you have a capability against one, you have a capability against the other. And right now, the US missile defense system is neither the world’s most advanced nor it’s most comprehensive. Apparently, many other nations have concluded that shooting down targets on entirely predictable ballistic paths is not impossible. Because it’s not, and we’ve been doing it for nearly 60 years, though the current Ground Based Mid-Course Defense system is kind of a kludge and has been starved of vital infrastructure for years (like enough radars to discriminate targets).

The thing is, all of our major world adversaries have had a similar capability for decades. Pretty much, if you have the ability to orbit a satellite, you have the ability to shoot them down, at least the ones in LEO. Simply calculate the orbit of the target satellite, and launch your own to coincide with at some determined time, and blammo, no more satellite. The Soviets had a massive ASAT program from the 60s on, and deployed a number of ASAT systems, up to an including a 1 megawatt laser battle station prototype, which, thank God, failed to achieve orbit when it’s booster turned the wrong direction and fired it back into the atmosphere (that was in 1987, when the same Soviets were screaming to all the world, and had eager acolytes in the Western press doing same, that orbital laser battle stations were an impossibility. They were actually way ahead of us at the time, and in some ways, still are).

Anyhoo, some statist media were trying to work up a panic today, eagerly parroting what their patrons in the Deep State wanted them to say, proclaiming that Oh My God, the bad guys are threatening us again! It’s all much ado about nothing (or very little, and very old, news), but it does point up that, indeed, at present, the US has no viable, operational ASAT system, not because we don’t have the ability, or can’t afford it, but by deliberate act of policy. Any number of systems have been proposed, and a good number have reached the hardware stage, but demonrats in Congress (or the executive branch) have always managed to scuttle them, since we signed a stupid treaty in 1967 that pretends to ban warfare in outer space.* Good luck with that:

China and Russia are developing anti-satellite missiles and other weapons and will soon be capable of damaging or destroying all U.S. satellites in low-earth orbit, according to the Pentagon’s Joint Staff.

The Joint Staff intelligence directorate, known as J-2, issued the warning in a recent report on the growing threat of anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons from those states, according to officials familiar with the assessment.

The report concludes that “China and Russia will be capable of severely disrupting or destroying U.S. satellites in low-earth orbit” in the next several years, said the officials.

The capability to attack low-earth orbit satellites could be in place by 2020, the officials said.

Notice the subtle manipulation – there is a big threat, but it’s not quite real, yet. We’re safe for now. But you better pour billions into our pet project, or we’ll be doomed, doomed!

There actually is a real threat out there, but I think it has much more to do with how the US defense establishment has allowed its operations to evolve into this desire for an ultimate control, God’s eye view of the battlespace, requiring massive recon and even more massive data transfer capabilities. Because the “gods” don’t want to be anywhere near an actual battlefield, which tend to be in hot, nasty, dusty, and sticky places. They want to sit in their air conditioned cocoon in DC and call all the shots. The only, or easiest, way to get worldwide recon and transmission of data is via satellite. Thus, the US military is now incredibly, incredibly dependent on constant and massive satellite presence, a very very delicate system and one with a thousand and one dire vulnerabilities and single points of failure. Thus the screaming about the threat. 25 years ago, satellites were very nice to have an in some limited ways even vital, but the Gulf War could have been fought with a serious reduction in our satellite capabilities without a great deal of impact at the operational level. Nowadays, literally everything runs via satellite, from the Predator footage that allows Obama to sit in the Oval Office and watch a terrorist get Hellfired in Yemen, to all the JDAMs/JSOWs/JASSMs and other “joint” bombs and missiles that now make up the overwhelming majority of the ordinance dropped by tactical aircraft, which, similarly, navigate via satellite. There is still some sanity, many of these bombs and certainly the aircraft have embedded INS and other systems to back up and replace the GPS if need be, but a) those are just that, back ups, and not used much anymore, and b) the entire concept of operations, training, budgets, etc., are focused around constant availability of very expensive, very few, and very vulnerable satellites. This actually is a very major concern for the US, because satellites are extremely difficult to harden, and they are very easy to find (there are ways around this, satellites do contain maneuvering fuel, but not very much, and a few orbit changes to avoid a threat will use that up very quickly. Plus, moving them around causes them to not be where you need them to be when you need them – at least some of the less numerous kinds. Probably most of you would be shocked to know how FEW recon “spy” satellites the US has in orbit – even adding in the radar and other non-visual types, it isn’t even 10, and may be as few as 4 or 5).

Thus, ZUMA, which some of you may have heard of, was probably not actually a failed mission, but is almost certainly a prototype (or not so prototype) stealth satellite design. That’s one way to avoid being targeted – many amateur astronomers, radio hobbyists, etc, are able to track all publicly acknowledged satellites by their transmissions (even if they cannot decode them), literally see them in orbit, etc. It is known there have been some stealth satellites that were not visible to the ground and used transmission technologies that most ordinary enthusiasts could not ID and track. Several of these have been orbited over the years. ZUMA appears to be another one, but unusually large and with an unusual cover story.

*- While the Us has no acknowledged, purpose-built ASAT system at present, as recently as 10 years ago, the US very publicly shot down a satellite in LEO using an ABM missile (a Navy Standard 3 missile, our best ICBM defense weapon at this point). If a nation has an operational ABM system, it most certainly has at least some measure of an ASAT capability. I’m sure Obama scratched any further development of that capability, even at the classified level, but perhaps Trump will turn it back on.

In the past, I’d have said that was a good thing. Not so sure anymore.

Sorry I do have a lot of good Catholic stuff to get to but had little time today. I’m really running late now, have a blessed evening.

Sorry for the atrocious pic – who would take it from between some fuzzy covers, and why? But it’s the only one that shows what we could have had, and almost had – a layered missile defense system covering almost the entire US with nearly 1000 interceptors (more could have been added later) with numerous, very capable and very hardened, targeting radars. Not sure why New Orleans and El Paso were left uncovered – Miami, too, apparently. This system wasn’t really good against SLBMs but with additional radars and interceptor sites, easily could have been. Yes it was expensive but at present we have almost no defense, and for some of the country, none at all, against a ballistic missile attack, nuclear or otherwise.These are coverage areas of the proposed – and somewhat built – Sentinel ABM system, which later was called Safeguard under Nixon, and then cancelled by the commie Congress of the mid-70s that came in the national temper tantrum in the wake of Watergate, which was an absolute nothing burger compared to what the corrupt federal government is up to today, and has been since at least Jan 20 2009, when Obama turned it into the paramilitary enforcement branch of the demonrat party.

]]>https://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/2018/01/31/dont-have-a-freak-out-russian-chinese-anti-satellite-technology-nothing-new/feed/2tantamergoFlightline Friday: SpaceX Static Fires the Mighty Falcon Heavyhttps://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/2018/01/26/flightline-friday-spacex-static-fires-the-mighty-falcon-heavy/
https://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/2018/01/26/flightline-friday-spacex-static-fires-the-mighty-falcon-heavy/#commentsFri, 26 Jan 2018 20:11:21 +0000http://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/?p=27354I haven’t done a Flightline Friday in ages. Well, some important recent aerospace news – SpaceX, finally, after years of delays, appears about set to launch the Falcon Heavy rocket sometime in the next few weeks. The full stack was static fired for the first time on Wednesday – and they did it at Launch Complex 39A, from which all but one Saturn V launches took place.

The Falcon Heavy is not as powerful as the Saturn V, but it is in the same league. It produces over 5 million pounds of thrust, to the Saturn V’s 7.7+ million (on Apollo 15). The Space Shuttle stack made just over 7 million pounds, but most of that was from solid rockets, which are boring, and the Space Shuttle doesn’t fly anymore, so there.

Falcon Heavy, with 27 Merlin engines, will be able to loft about 70 tons into low earth orbit, and nearly 30 tons to geosynchronous orbit. It also has very substantial capacities for escape velocity – about 25 tons to the Moon and 19 tons to Mars. Those are the capacities with full expendability – no returning and landing any of the stages. With reuse, the capacities are substantially reduced, especially to GTO and escape velocity. Generally, the Falcon Heavy has capacities almost exactly half those of the Saturn V – one handicap is that SpaceX continues to use a relatively low energy upper stage powered by hydrocarbons, whereas Saturn V upper stages were cryogenic and powered by liquid hydrogen. They also had way more thrust, especially the spectacular S-II stage.

Anyhoo, even though the test was very short, shock waves in the flame trenches of Launch Complex 39 like this have not been seen in over 45 years:

I cannot wait for one of these to launch from Boca Chica. I will so be in South Padre, if SpaceX ever gets moving on their south Texas launch site. Apparently the sand there is unusually unstable and they’ve had to do a lot more soil prep than they planned. The bedrock is much deeper than thought, too – which, guys, the Rio Grande has been running through 1000+ miles of desert for thousands of years, that’s a lot of sand to dump into the Gulf, but whatever. They say they are going to finally get started in earnest this year. We’ll see.

]]>https://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/2018/01/26/flightline-friday-spacex-static-fires-the-mighty-falcon-heavy/feed/2tantamergoGood Catechesis – Priest Notes that Sin of Onanism at Root of Inclination to Sodomy/Transgenderism…..https://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/2018/01/25/good-catechesis-priest-notes-that-sin-of-onanism-at-root-of-inclination-to-sodomy-transgenderism/
https://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/2018/01/25/good-catechesis-priest-notes-that-sin-of-onanism-at-root-of-inclination-to-sodomy-transgenderism/#commentsThu, 25 Jan 2018 22:57:20 +0000http://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/?p=27351………and he also notes, that this sin of onanism – which I assume all readers know means self-abuse – does not have to be a sin of the person who falls into these inclinations. It can, in fact, be attributed to these sins in the parents, especially when combined with pornography use, which then allow the demons associated with these sins into the house, infecting even those who may not share the same sin (though, in most of these cases, they will). In the Old Testament, God reveals that the sins of the father are visited upon the children, even down to the 4th generation. This is actually a good reason for all Catholics, and especially converts, to know their family history. Masonry in the US was extremely common, especially throughout the farming communities of the Midwest, 100-150 years ago. I have several family members who were Masons, God rest their souls. Thus it was advisable that I, as father of my family, have minor exorcism prayers said in order to break any curses that might have been brought down on our family through this Masonic involvement. I also wonder if that Masonry is a source of the anti-Catholic animus that existed in some of my forebears, but that’s another subject.

At any rate, the sermon below is on a difficult topic, gender dysphoria, but the priest handles it with good care. I would say it is suitable for all fathers, almost all mothers and most children, but some families with the blessing of extreme innocence and delicate consciences may want to be careful with it. The priest notes that God made us male and female, and that this definition is made at the very core level of our beings – in our genetic codes. You either have a Y chromosome, or you don’t. Thus these transgender activists, pretending that gender is just an accident of socialization and can be “easily” changed with massive chemical intake, a change of dress, some makeup, and, oh yeah, permanent body mutilation, are insane. Actually, they’re not insane, they are in thrall to a hideous, satanic ideology, an ideology that seeks endless power for itself, and ruination for souls:

Transgenders, sodomites, and all their ilk (the growing “pedophile rights” movement) all pretend that their sin is somehow unique or different. Remember back when sodomites and their Leftist enablers told us they were born that way, and so it couldn’t be a sin? Now they say that not just sexuality but sex itself is entirely mutable and changeable, because it is convenient for them to do so. But as the sermon notes, it’s just another sin, and we all sin. Everyone of us struggles with various kinds of sins, and temptation to sin. Every single one. I’m an addict. There is infinitely more evidence that there is a genetic, “born that way” component to addiction than there is to sodomy or transgenderism. In fact, the genetic or hereditary component of addiction is pretty much proven – it definitely runs in families. That doesn’t make my sins of intoxication or compulsive sexual sins no longer sinful. And I am not “special” because I have this inclination. Everyone is born with a particular temperament, and particular inclinations towards sin. Some people have greater inclinations than others. Why? God knows, but the common view of the Saints is that God allows more suffering in those he loves most. His Son suffered infinitely for our sins, and God is incapable of loving anyone any more than Himself in His Son. Those tempted more are called to higher sanctity. Some horrible sinners have become tremendous Saints.

The priest’s explanations in the sermon are full of truth and love. It is very compassionate, but not in the modern, Francis of Rome Jesuitical sense. Not in the Father James Martin sense. In, you know, an actual Catholic sense.

I should add, also, that I don’t mean to imply above that if a kid falls into one of these lifestyles, it is necessarily the parent’s fault. I have seen kids falling away from wonderful families, families who, as well as an outsider can tell, seem to do everything right. People sin. There are myriad causes. The point above was just to note that these particular sins are very dangerous not only for parents but for their kids as well.